Liberation of Cortez and Mancos
The Liberation of Cortez and Mancos was a battle between the Union of the Ute and Navajo Nations and Caesar's Legion for control over Montezuma County in the former state of Colorado. The battle kicked off on May 1st, 2282 when UNU guerilla fighters used the Mesa Verde cliffs as a staging point against the Legion forces and used their tactics to eliminate the entire Legion force in the area and ultimately retake the county. Background When the bombs fell, Mesa Verde National Park was not directly impacted, but far from any major cities or military installations. While there was some chaos in the aftermath of the collapse of pre-war society, in time, many of the tourists at the park ended up settling in Cortez and Mancos or in the park itself, setting up the post-war towns of Morefield, Farview, and Chapin Mesa. The former tourists and their descendants largely assimilated, however, traces if their roots remains in the names of some of the inhabitants and a few post-war place names that are corruptions of words used by the foreign tourists, such as Mezoo Springs (from the Japanese mizu - water) and Mount Domsmort, (From the French mont d'hommes mort- Dead Men's Mountain, referring to ridge which several people committed suicide by jumping off after hearing of the nuclear war). In the decades after the war, the Mesa Verde area did much better than much of the rest of the country and became part of the Union of the Ute and Navajo Nations. The region was mostly devoted to agriculture and raising brahmin (as well as highly-prized "one-headers"- cattle that suffered minimal mutation thanks to their distance from any nuclear detonations), with the former park serving as ranchland. When Caesar's Legion arrived in the area in 2272, many of the inhabitants retreated into Mesa Verde and the nearby Ute and San Juan Mountains. In spite of their best efforts, the Legion was unable to dislodge the UNU holdouts, as their forces were bottleneck along the one access road into the former park and unable to climb the cliffs that surrounded the mesa on all sides. After multiple failed attempt, the Legion was forced to simply guard the exit, hoping they could eventually starve the the residents out. In this attempt, they failed, as UNU holdouts were skilled at dryland agriculture and had even built small reservoirs in the canyons, could produce enough food to survive on the land. In 2282, as New California Republic forces encroached on Nova Roma (former Flagstaff), Third Caesar of the Legion Aurelius of Phoenix ordered a 75% reduction in all Legion provincial garrisons each of Albuquerque. This left the Mesa Verde with only 350 Legionaries in Cortez and 150 in Mancos. After couriers and smuggler from other UNU settlements brought news of the UNU Liberation of Window Rock and their victories at the Battle of Yah-Ta-Hey and Battle of Little Water, the UNU remnants planned a surprise attack to take back the Montezuma. Surprise Attack On the night of May 2nd, 2282, starting at 1100 hours on May 1st, UNU guerilla parties of no more that 50 men slipped down the slopes of Mesa Verde, and San Juan Mountains, and the Ute Mountains, and placed themselves in concealed positions around Mancos and Cortez, hiding in arroyos, behind cliffs, and even inside houses on the outskirts of town that had been abandoned since shortly after the Great War. At about 0100 hours on May 2nd, the attack was signaled by the firing of a flare from Point Lookout, a prominent point on the north slope of Mesa Verde. Upon seeing the signal, a number of hidden mortars (including both pre-war models transported into the mountains by the remnants of the UNU military and improvised designs) opened fire. While larger mortars could be fired from Mesa Verde itself, many of the mortars were light models dismantled and transported to closer locations. Under the chaos caused by the mortar attack, the attack parties, totalling about 500 between the two towns (most being tasked with attacking Cortez attacked. At the same time a force of about 100 UNU guerilla, including a number of technicals made from surviving pre-war vehicles that had hidden in Mesa Verde rushed down the access road, supported by snipers of Point Lookout armed with anti-materiel rifle, which allowed them to fire down on the Legion guard post at the end of the road, over a kilometer away. The surprise attack came from multiple directions split the Legion troops apart in an attempt to defend from multiple directions. While there were about as many Legion troops as there were UNU Guerillas, the confused Legion troops were unable to mount a proper defense, nor could the Legion garrisons at Cortez and Mancos support the outlying outpost or each other. In the initial surprise attack, it is estimated that over 100 Legionaries were killed in first ten minutes of the assault, mostly from mortar attacks that landed on their barracks. As the UNU rebels pushed their assault, they quickly pushed the Legion Forces out of the outskirts of Cortez and Mancos. While Mancos was cleared within an hour, the Legion forces in Cortez lasted longer thanks to their larger garrison, holding out in the old city hall and Montezuma County government building. During the chaos of the attack, numerous Legion slaves attempted to escape or rebel, further adding to the chaos. The Legion garrison in Cortez held out until about 0330 hours, when UNU rebels that had cleared Mancos and the outposts reinforced their comrades in Cortez. By this point, many of the Legion holdouts decided to surrender, and many would later join the UNU upon learning of that the Legion was beginning to fragment after the fall of Nova Roma to the NCR. While the Liberation of Cortez and Mancos was a well-planned surprise attack, it was not without its flaws. During the chaos, there were several incidents of friendly fire among both the Legion and UNU, with some estimates suggesting that half the UNU KIA were caused by friendly fire. At least 60 civilians and escaping slaves were also killed in the attack. Aftermath The fall of Mancos and Cortez reasserted that point shown by the Liberation of Window Rock, that, with the bulk of their forces being diverted in a vain attempt of stem the tide of the NCR Arizona Offensive, the Legion could not hold on to their provincial territories. With each piece of their empire rebelled, it spread the forces thinner, effectively resulting in positive feedback loop that accelerated the fragmentation and disintegration of Legion territory. Category:Battles Category:Events